News detail

Aug 2, 2013

Eyre Peninsula searches

Eyre Peninsula locals involved in Malleefowl search

Category: General

Posted by: tim

Last week a group of Cowell locals helped DEWNR staff conduct a search of scrub just north of Cowell looking for Malleefowl mounds. Included in the group was Tim Burnard (National Malleefowl Recovery Team Coordinator) and Cowell Area School student, Brooke Curtis.

Each year a group of dedicated volunteers across Australia go into the bush and check how the Malleefowl are going. They do this by looking at the huge mounds that Malleefowl build to lay their eggs in and see if any of the mounds are active. Volunteers check over 3000 mounds each year across Australia.

Malleefowl were once quite common on Eyre Peninsula but a range of factors have acted to reduce numbers significantly. Monitoring the mounds can be hard going and suited to people old enough and fit enough to cope with a day of bush bashing through sometimes thick scrub. If you would like to take part in the annual Malleefowl monitoring please contact Iggy Honan at the Cleve DEWNR office (08) 8628 2077.

The attached photo shows the local group heading off to check Malleefowl mounds (Brooke is far right)